Canine parainfluenza - description of the disease, symptoms and treatment of parainfluenza

Canine parainfluenza is a highly contagious infectious dangerous respiratory disease that affects the respiratory tract of animals. The inflammatory process affects the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, leading to disruption of the functioning of the respiratory system.

Dogs of all breeds are susceptible to the disease, regardless of age. Parainfluenza is especially dangerous for small puppies with a weak immune system. In veterinary practice, the disease is most often diagnosed in early spring, autumn and winter.

Carnivore plague

Canine distemper (canine distemper, Carré disease) is an acute viral disease characterized by damage to the respiratory, digestive, skin, and nervous system. Dogs of all ages are affected, but more often from 2 months of age. up to 3 years. The causative agent is the canine distemper virus, which belongs to the paramyxovirus family and is transmitted by contact and airborne droplets. The virus is extremely unstable in the external environment. Mutts, terriers and boxers are relatively resistant to the disease. Dogs of cultivated and decorative breeds are the least resistant. The mortality rate among dogs is about 50%. As a rule, dogs that have recovered from the disease develop lifelong immunity, although the resistance of recovered animals to re-infection is not absolute. Puppies from immune mothers, as well as suckling ones, are immune to plague for 2-3 months.

Infection occurs by airborne droplets. The incubation period lasts from 2 days to 2-3 weeks, and the disease itself can be acute, hyperacute and even fulminant in nature, in which dogs can die suddenly, without showing clinical signs. In a hyperacute course, the disease lasts 2-3 days, the temperature rises sharply, the animal refuses food, a coma occurs and the dog dies. In acute cases, the disease lasts 2-4 weeks. There are catarrhal (pulmonary), intestinal and nervous forms of the disease. The course of the underlying disease can often be complicated by secondary (secondary) bacterial infections.

For express diagnostics, methods of enzyme immunoassay, indirect immunofluorescence and neutralization reactions, as well as the ultrasensitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, designed to detect viral RNA in biological samples, are successfully used.

Symptoms: in “classical” cases, the temperature rises to 40-41°C within a week after infection, and clinical symptoms of a generalized disease develop after a few weeks. They include: lethargy, refusal to eat, redness of the cornea of the eyes and possible purulent discharge; Possible diarrhea and vomiting; breathing is difficult, coughing, streaks or blood clots can be seen in the stool. In the nervous form (can be acute or chronic) - convulsions of the limbs and lower jaw, whining, complete paralysis is possible (usually with a long course of the disease). In dogs recovered from distemper, persistent infection in the central nervous system can lead to “senior canine encephalitis” after several years.

The “classical” form of the disease is quite rare, and more often the infection affects only one system of the body: the respiratory, digestive or central nervous system.

Observation and treatment should be carried out by a specialist, so be sure to call a veterinarian

Prevention: You can prevent plague by strictly following the vaccination schedule prescribed and carried out by your supervising doctor. Domestic vaccines are used: EPM, Dipentavak, Vakchum, as well as imported polyvalent vaccines: Nobivac DHP, etc. Before vaccination, dogs are dewormed.

Spread of the virus

Parainfluenza is a virus that spreads quickly, especially in shelters, animal hotels, farms and large shows. This infectious disease is transmitted by droplets. Viruses that affect animals are very different from those that are dangerous to humans. Thus, a person cannot become infected from his four-legged friend and get sick. The human equivalent of this virus usually causes influenza.

There have been no cases of human infection, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, the virus can survive on human skin and clothing, so humans may help spread it to dogs. Parainfluenza can also cause infections and respiratory problems in cats, although only isolated cases have been reported to date.

Symptoms of infection

If you have parainfluenza, you must notify all owners of other animals who walk with you about your illness. The disease spreads quickly, and the period of parainfluenza activity lasts from 4 to 9 days. There is the possibility of vaccination against the infection, so the disease can be prevented if the symptoms are very mild.

Parainfluenza, or upper respiratory illness, is caused by several viruses and bacteria. The disease is very contagious, so a dog can easily become infected from another individual on a regular walk. The virus travels by droplets, is not very resistant to the external environment, dies at high temperatures, and is also destroyed with the help of disinfectants. The easiest way to get infected is by walking during bad weather, wind, rain, etc.

Infectious hepatitis

Infectious canine hepatitis (Rubart's disease, viral hepatitis) is a contagious disease caused by canine adenovirus type 1 (ABC-1) and characterized by inflammatory processes in the liver and gall bladder, sometimes accompanied by disruption of the central nervous system. The disease is transmitted by contact. The virus is quite stable and can survive for several weeks at room temperature. Dogs of all ages are susceptible to the disease, but puppies are more often affected. The incubation period lasts 3-10 days.

The disease occurs in both acute and chronic forms, in which dogs can excrete the virus in their urine for more than six months.

Symptoms: The disease begins with an increase in temperature to 40-41 ° C, gradually increasing lethargy, severe thirst, decreased appetite, up to complete refusal of food. Animals quickly lose weight, diarrhea appears, vomiting mixed with bile, and yellowness of the skin and mucous membranes is noted. Urine takes on a dark brown color. An additional symptom is keratitis, a whitish clouding of the cornea in one or both eyes. Sometimes conjunctivitis and photophobia develop. Before death, the dog falls into a comatose state, the temperature drops to 35°C. Mortality among young dogs reaches 80%.

Prevention: vaccination

How can a pet become infected?

The infection can enter the animal's body through airborne droplets or contact. Infection often occurs in nurseries, during visits to veterinary clinics during a parainfluenza epidemic, as well as at exhibitions and competitions. Factors contributing to infection of an individual are:

Improper keeping of a pet. Animals living in kennels and chained are more susceptible to the disease.
Stress. Develops in dogs that are lost on the street and then returned home.
Poor nutrition, lack of vitamins and microelements in feed.
Lack of necessary vaccinations. This factor contributes to the development of pathology in puppies older than three months, which are just starting to be taken outside for walking.
Lack of physical activity, physical inactivity. For this reason, the disease occurs in dogs that are rarely walked and kept in cramped apartments.

The disease can also develop in puppies that have chronic diseases, suffer from helminthiasis or skin parasites. The worse the health of an individual, the higher his overall risk of contracting an infection.

Adenovirus

Adenovirosis (infectious laryngotracheitis) is a viral disease characterized by symptoms of damage to the respiratory and gastrointestinal tract. Dogs of all ages get sick. In Japan, the disease is called canine dry cough disease. Sometimes adenovirus, along with other canine respiratory infections (see below), is also called "kennel cough." Caused by canine adenovirus type 2. The main source of infection is sick dogs, which excrete the virus in urine, feces, nasal mucus and conjunctival secretions. Infection can occur not only through the mucous membranes of the nasal and oral cavities, but also through sexual intercourse.

Symptoms of adenovirosis: lethargy, redness of the pharyngeal mucosa, nasal discharge, dry cough, wheezing in the lungs, there may be diarrhea, sometimes vomiting, loss of appetite. There are remains of undigested food in the stool. The temperature is normal.

Due to the fact that the symptoms of adenovirus are very similar to the symptoms of plague, we recommend that you show the animal to a doctor within 24 hours.

Prevention: vaccination

Vaccine classification

There are many different classifications of vaccines, the most interesting for us are the following - dividing vaccines according to the nature of the antigen, according to the development of immunity from one or several pathogens, and according to the method of preparation.

Based on the nature of the antigen, that is, the object from which immunity is developed, vaccines are divided into viral and bacterial. Accordingly, immunity is developed either from an infection caused by a bacterial agent or a viral one.

Based on their ability to produce immunity from one or several pathogens, vaccines are divided into monovaccines and associated, or complex, vaccines.

The classification of vaccines by preparation method is quite complex, but it can be simplified as follows:

live vaccines (infectious);
inactivated vaccines (killed, non-live, non-infectious).

Live vaccines, in turn, are divided into several subtypes. For dogs, attenuated vaccines are mainly used - that is, vaccines containing microorganisms with weakened virulence, that is, viruses that are unable to cause specific diseases, but can imitate the development of an asymptomatic disease in the body, forming specific immunity.

The main advantage of live attenuated vaccines for dogs is that they provide long-lasting immunity with minimal risk of complications. For animals that lack maternal antibodies, live vaccines are usually effective in creating intense immunity after a single dose.

For owners, the very name “live” or “infectious” vaccines sometimes sounds threatening - it may seem that vaccination with such a drug can itself infect the animal. In fact, live vaccines are currently as safe as possible, there are a number of possible complications for them, but none of them suggest that the animal can become infected due to the vaccination. Illness immediately after vaccination with a live vaccine can only occur if the dog has already been infected but clinical symptoms have not yet occurred. To avoid such complications, before vaccination, the veterinarian always examines the animal and makes sure that it is clinically healthy.

Live vaccines are usually stored dry; strains of microorganisms are subjected to lyophilization (drying at low temperatures in a vacuum), which increases the shelf life and ensures the stability of the properties of the vaccine.

Inactivated vaccines contain killed strains of microorganisms, but at the same time retaining the integrity of the antigen, or a natural or synthetic antigen obtained from the desired microorganism. Inactivated pathogens are not able to develop inside the body, which, on the one hand, makes them formally safer than live vaccines; on the other hand, inactivated vaccines provide less intense immunity and require more frequent administration.

All vaccines are biogenic preparations and require special storage conditions in a fairly narrow temperature range - 4-8 degrees Celsius. Therefore, transportation and storage of vaccines require strict control.

Infectious tracheobronchitis

Infectious tracheobronchitis, or more precisely, infectious laryngotracheobronchitis (synonyms - kennel cough, kennel cough or kennel cough) is an extremely contagious disease of a polyetiological nature, caused by Bordetella bronchisрtica, as well as various viruses (adenoviruses, canine herpesvirus, parainfluenza virus, reoviruses, etc.) and mycoplasmas. Most often, the disease is observed when dogs are kept in crowded conditions in kennels and shelters. The incubation period is usually 3-10 days after infection.

Symptoms: acute attacks of dry cough, sometimes paroxysmal, especially after physical activity. In severe cases - the urge to vomit, sometimes serous and mucous discharge from the nose, rarely - a rise in temperature, refusal to feed.

As a rule, clinical symptoms disappear after 1-3 weeks and the animals recover. A possible complication is bronchopneumonia.

Prevention: There is no vaccine against all possible pathogens.

Diagnosis of parainfluenza in dogs

Diagnostic methods are based on a general clinical examination, medical history, a series of laboratory tests and tests, and special test systems.

Given the similarity of clinical manifestations of parainfluenza in dogs, differential diagnosis (PCR diagnostics) is mandatory. In severe cases of parainfluenza infection, parasitic bronchitis, canine distemper, pneumonia, heart failure, tracheal collapse, and other dangerous viral infections should be excluded.

Parvovirus enteritis

Parvovirus enteritis (canine viral hemorrhagic enteritis) is an acute contagious disease caused by viruses from the parvovirus family and characterized by inflammation and necrosis of the intestinal mucosa and, sometimes, myocarditis. Two types of parvoviruses can infect dogs independently of each other: PVS-1 and PVS-2. These are small, DNA-containing viruses that do not have an outer shell. Parvovirus enteritis occurs unexpectedly and progresses very quickly. In some cases, the death of the animal is noted already on the 2-3rd day.

Parvovirus enteritis affects dogs aged 2 months to 2 years, but puppies 2-2.5 months of age are most often affected. Infection most often occurs through feces (parvoviruses are very stable in the environment and, under favorable conditions, can remain in feces for more than six months), but a transplacental route of infection is also indicated. The incubation period is 3-10 days.

With careful attention to your pet, the onset of the disease can be recognized in the first hours. Unfortunately, many fanciers seek help on the 2nd or 3rd day, when the animal’s condition is approaching critical, and any help, even the most qualified, does not produce positive results.

Symptoms: most often the disease begins acutely, severe vomiting with mucus, stool becomes watery, yellow, then dark red, after 6-24 hours watery diarrhea develops, sometimes with blood; depressed state, rapid fatigue, increased body temperature (not always), refusal to eat, apathy, thirst is typical, the puppy often approaches a bowl of water, drinks greedily, and vomits after drinking. There is rapid exhaustion and dehydration. A blood test reveals leukopenia.

If these symptoms appear, you must immediately call a veterinarian!

On the 2-3rd day after the onset of clinical symptoms, the temperature drops to 37.5-38°C. Deafness may develop. After parvovirus enteritis in severe form, myocarditis can develop, the mortality rate from which during the fulminant course of the disease reaches 70%, and of the remaining 30%, many then die from acute or chronic heart failure. The mortality rate from parvovirus enteritis is about 50%, but among puppies it can reach 90%.

Remember that with parvovirus enteritis, the course of the disease can develop rapidly and the loss of every hour threatens the death of the dog.

The most effective method of preventing viral enteritis is timely and correct vaccination of the animal with mono- or polyvalent vaccines.

Prevention measures

The most effective means of preventing parainfluenza is timely immunization of the dog. There are several types of vaccinations:

a monovaccine, which is aimed at combating a specific virus;
a multivalent vaccine that helps prevent infection from several types of infections.

It is necessary to use the type of vaccine recommended by the treating veterinarian according to the immunization plan.

In addition, it is important to comply with the conditions of care and maintenance aimed at maintaining the dog’s health and immunity at the proper level:

monitor the quality of the diet, which should contain the optimal amount of nutrients and microelements;
avoid long walks in cold weather;
protect from stress, always maintain a friendly tone with the dog;
maintain cleanliness in the room where the dog is kept;
If there is an outbreak of the disease, protect your pet from contact with other animals.

You should never ignore at least a few cases of coughing in a dog. If you immediately show your dog to a veterinarian and take action, you can stop the manifestations of the disease at an early stage and the disease will go away in an erased form and without complications.

Herpes

Canine herpesvirus causes acute infection in newborn puppies, respiratory disease (kennel cough - quite rare), as well as abortion and/or stillbirth. The virus is usually transmitted transplacentally. Puppies over 2 weeks of age rarely become ill, but may develop a characteristic cough.

In adult dogs, herpes virus infection is usually asymptomatic; the virus can become latent.

Symptoms. In puppies 7-10 days of age: lack of appetite, diarrhea is usually yellowish-green in color, whining, chills against the background of normal body temperature, vomiting, profuse salivation, weak discharge from the nose, acute abdomen.

If left untreated, death sometimes occurs within hours or days of the onset of symptoms.

If these symptoms are present in small puppies, you should immediately consult a veterinarian.

Treatment is prescribed by a veterinarian.

Treatment of the disease

In the absence of secondary infections, parainfluenza in most cases is suggested to be treated with symptomatic means, since there are no veterinary antiviral drugs for this purpose. Well-chosen symptomatic treatment has a beneficial effect on the animal’s immune system, and this helps it cope with the infection in a short time. The main complexes of drugs for the treatment of parainfluenza are as follows:

codeine-based antitussives;
vitamin therapy;
immunomodulators (Engystol);
maintenance therapy based on homeopathy;
good care, which consists of providing complete rest, good nutrition and the absence of stress.

If the slightest signs of secondary infections are detected and to prevent the process from becoming chronic, antibiotics from the cyclosporine group can be prescribed. For persistent cough, bronchi dilators (Salbutamol) are used in combination with corticosteroids.

Parainfluenza

Parainfluenza is an acute contagious disease that is caused by the canine parainfluenza virus Paramixovirus canis and is accompanied by damage to the mucous membranes and inflammation of the respiratory tract.

Symptoms: the disease occurs in the form of catarrhal-mucous runny nose, pharyngitis and tonsillitis, as a rule, without an increase in body temperature, although sometimes there is a short-term rise in body temperature to 40-40.5 degrees (Celsius). A dry cough is characteristic. Tracheitis and bronchitis develop less frequently. The general condition of the animals remains satisfactory.

Prevention: vaccination

Pathogen information

For the first time, American dog handlers encountered this pathology. This happened in the second half of the 1960s. The parainfluenza virus is defined in veterinary medicine as the CPIV-2 strain. It causes a serious illness called kennel cough.

With parainfluenza, the dog's respiratory tract is affected and the lymph nodes become inflamed.

Dogs prone to developing infectious pathologies are at risk. The virus enters the body through the airways.

Its reproduction is carried out in:

Lymph nodes.
Mucous membranes of the respiratory tract.
Epithelial cells.

Preventive recommendations

It is necessary to treat your pet with care and protect it from stress. It needs to be kept in comfortable conditions.

The dog's food should be warm. You cannot feed her ice cream or hot food. It is important to mix vitamin and mineral supplements into your dog's food.

It is also necessary to vaccinate the animal. Most often, a monovaccine is used for this purpose. The canine parainfluenza vaccine is administered into a muscle, under the skin, or by aerosol.

The video talks about what influenza and parainfluenza are in dogs.